The start of the women's college basketball season is only weeks away, which means it's time for an important annual ritual: Preseason awards voting.
Coaches and media alike across the country will submit ballots of their best guesses of who will be the best of the best this season. The USA TODAY Sports Network released preseason awards and All-SEC teams, and I'm going to break down my ballot that I submitted for both that and the SEC's media poll.
Here's how I voted for the 2026-27 SEC preseason awards.
Coach of the Year: Dawn Staley, South Carolina
Hot take, I know. But it's not hard to imagine South Carolina coach Dawn Staley winning her eighth SEC Coach of the Year Award, because in this house, we don't get tired of greatness. There's no such thing as voter fatigue here.
The Gamecocks are
on a run of dominance in the conference that is second only to the height of Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt's dynasty. South Carolina has won 19 SEC regular-season and tournament titles since 2014. Staley has led her team to five straight SEC regular-season titles, and if the Gamecocks win again this year, they'll be just one behind Tennessee's record of seven straight.
Player of the Year: Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
It might seem crazy not to pick reigning SEC Player of the Year Mikayla Blakes for this award, but it feels like Joyce Edwards' year.
Statistically, Edwards and Blakes were close last year with two exceptions — Blakes scored more with a higher usage rate, and Edwards had 2.4 defensive win shares to Blakes' 1.4.
Even with the Gamecocks' extra depth in the frontcourt this season, Edwards' role isn't likely to decrease. She should still be the focal point of what South Carolina does, and she's primed for a big junior season.
Blakes will have more pieces around her at Vanderbilt this season, and she may have to sacrifice some shots in order to get the Commodores to the next level.
Newcomer of the Year: Jada Williams, LSU
Jada Williams feels like the obvious choice here, even though there are several incredibly talented freshmen joining the SEC this season. But the senior transfer fills a significant need for LSU at point guard. Williams should make a huge impact coming off a career-best season at Iowa State, where she averaged 15.3 points, 7.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and one steal.
The 5-foot-6 guard also shot 41.7% from the field and 30.8% on 4.8 attempts from 3-point range per game. LSU is a perfect fit for Williams, who may be the biggest X-factor of the Tigers' offensive success this season.
Defensive Player of the Year: MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
There are a few solid candidates for DPOY, including Mississippi State's Madison Francis and Kentucky's Clara Strack. But in my opinion, LSU guard MiLaysia Fulwiley didn't get enough credit for what she did defensively last season.
Fulwiley, who's 5-9, was the only player in the league to rank in the top 10 for both steals and blocks. She averaged 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks, and those numbers held up in SEC games, when she averaged 2.2 steals and 1.7 blocks.
Whether you're looking at all games or just SEC games, Fulwiley has the best player defensive rating (82.3, 90.2, 99.4, respectively, in SEC; 70.6, 79.3, 85.7, respectively, in all games) and highest defensive win shares. She also fouls less than Strack and Francis, and the gravity Fulwiley has with her ability to swing momentum is unbelievable until you see it.
First team
- G Tessa Johnson, South Carolina
- G Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
- G Mikaylah Williams, LSU
- F Madison Booker, Texas
- F Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Second team
- G MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
- G Talaysia Cooper, Ole Miss
- F Chloe Kitts, South Carolina
- F Mia Woolfolk, Vanderbilt
- C Clara Strack, Kentucky
Also considered: Jordan Lee, Jada Williams, Aaliyah Chavez, Fatmata Janneh
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Breaking down Lady Vols writer Cora Hall's preseason ballot for All-SEC 2026-27 basketball
